ELEVENTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK— PART X 499 



value of cattle and hogs, due to evidence of disease; impairing 

 reputation of herd, and handicapping sales from herd in which 

 there is disease. 



A word concerning the Bang method of handling tuberculous 

 herds is appropriate at this time. Professor Bang of the Copen- 

 hagen (Denmark) Veterinary College, lias recommended tins 

 method in Denmark, where it has been placed into practice. Its 

 purpose is to replenish a tuberculous herd without entailing un- 

 necessary loss to the owner. It contemplates the destruction of 

 all animals showing physical symptoms of the disease, and the iso- 

 lation for breeding purposes of animals which react to the test, 

 but which are free from physical symptoms of tuberculosis. They 

 are closely watched, and in case any of them develop such symptoms 

 they are destroyed. Stables are thoroughly disinfected. Infected 

 animals are fattened and killed for beef under inspection as the 

 sound herd has been increased. Calves from infected cows are 

 isolated and fed on pasteurized milk, and as tuberculosis is very 

 rarely congenital, develop into healthy animals in most cases. There 

 is an instance on record, reported by Professor Regner, where 

 36,149 cattle were tested; 33.6 per cent reacted. After from two 

 to nine years under the Bang method in the different herds the 

 percentage had been reduced to 4.7 per cent. "Wisconsin and other 

 states have experimented successfully with this method, and grati- 

 fying results have invariably followed. In 1901 the New York 

 Experiment Station introduced the Bang method, as more than 

 half of the herd was found to be tuberculous. Thirteen of the thirty 

 animals belonging to the station were healthy and the remainder 

 were diseased. Twenty-four desirable heifer calves were produced 

 by this herd during the following four years, about half of which 

 came from the tuberculous animals and in 1905 the herd contained 

 thirty healthy animals. Non-reacting animals are tested from 

 time to time, and individuals reacting are placed with the isolated 

 herd. Calves raised from reacting animals that fail to respond to 

 the test are placed with the sound herd. Observation shows that 

 only from 1 to 6 per cent of calves raised under these conditions 

 have reacted to tuberculin at six months of age. The Bang method 

 has been employed with remarkable success in Hungary, where 

 many highly infected herds have been freed from the disease in 

 from four to six years. The chief value of the Bang method lies 

 in the fact that through this means animals in the advanced stages 



